Essex County Man Convicted of Drug Distribution and Illegal Possession of Firearm and Ammunition

NEWARK, N.J. - An Essex County man was convicted of firearm and narcotics offenses following a three-day trial, Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello announced.

Mookadean Cheeseboro, 38, of Newark, was convicted by a federal jury on February 11, 2026, of unlawful possession of a firearm and ammunition by a convicted felon, and possession with the intent to distribute fentanyl and cocaine following a trial before U.S. District Judge Madeline Cox Arleo in Newark federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

On December 20, 2021, while executing a search warrant, New Jersey State Police officers saw Cheeseboro engaged in drug trafficking. When State Police detectives searched Cheeseboro, they found 74 doses of cocaine and fentanyl packaged for sale and a key to a vehicle. When detectives opened the vehicle, they found a .380 caliber handgun and thirty rounds of ammunition. Cheeseboro admitted in a post-arrest statement that he possessed the drugs and had the firearm for his protection.

The felon in possession charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 10 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine. The possession with intent to distribute controlled substances charge carries a maximum potential penalty of 20 years of imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine.

Cheeseboro was previously convicted in 2015 of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon in the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey. U.S. District Judge William J. Martini sentenced him to serve 70 months' imprisonment for that offense.

Senior Counsel Lamparello credited with the investigation special agents of the Drug Enforcement Administration, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Towanda R. Thorne-James, as well as the New Jersey State Police, under the direction of Acting Superintendent Lt. Col. Jeanne Hengemuhle, with the investigation leading to this conviction.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America, a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department's Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John M. Maloy, of the Organized Crime/Gangs Unit, and Kelly M. Lyons, Acting Chief of the Narcotics and International Trafficking Unit.

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Defense counsel: F. R. "Chip" Dunne, III, Esq.